Truth And Consequence
by Elemental Gypsy
Summary: Miguel/Kai, Tala/Raul:: To Kai the vile game of Truth or Dare is something spawned from the depths of Hell. Even so, he can handle anything they throw at him. However, another more delicate blader can not. What happens when his own sister turns on him?
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Truth And Consequence  
**Summary:** To Kai the vile game of Truth or Dare is something spawned from the depths of Hell. Even so, he can handle anything they throw at him. However, another more delicate blader can not. What happens when his own sister turns on him?  
**Pairings:** Miguel/Kai, Tala/Raul, friendship between Kai and Raul. Other pairings mentioned.  
**Warnings:** Yaoi, swearing, fluff.  
**Disclaimer:** Don't own Beyblade. _-checks bank balance-_ And I probably never will…

Yeah, I've started yet another fic…I can't help it. Well, I hope you enjoy either way. Don't know how long this one will be, three or four perhaps?

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Curling a strand of loose hair behind his ear, Kai glances up towards the sky as he steps out of his room. Scattered clouds litter the sky, giving Kai the impression that it could easily shower at any moment, even though hints of blue peek out from behind gray clouds.

"I hope it doesn't rain until after I pick the blitz boys up from the airport," Kai mutters to himself as he places his car keys in his pocket, an expression of sheer irritation appearing on his face when that same strand of hair he curled behind his ear mere moments ago is back in his eyes.

Biting back a groan of annoyance, Kai patiently pushes the hair back behind his ear, his eyes shifting back towards the sky. The clouds appear to be thickening. He better leave soon.

Tyson Granger, the third world champion -as he keeps reminding everyone within hearing range- has decided that all the Beyblade teams should get together and just hang out like old times. There is a charity match coming up in a few days where a few of the teams will be participating in order to raise money for Kids with Cancer foundation. Kai will be participating, as is the blitz boys. Even though the event is still days away, Tyson wanted everyone to get together before hand just to have a get together party before the training for the match begins.

All the teams except for the fore mention Russians are here, but they will be here soon enough. Weather permitting, of course.

"Gah!" A loud voice suddenly cuts through Kai's thoughts, making him jump just ever so slightly, although he'd stab anyone with a fork if they dare imply that that noise startled him. "I'm so bored! Let's do something interesting!"

Rolling his eyes towards the roof of the ever familiar Granger's Dojo, Kai heads towards the familiar noise, knowing only one person could be that loud. Sliding open the door, Kai's thoughts are confirmed when he spies a certain midnight blue haired blader standing in the middle of the room, instructing the large group of his fellow bladers to think of something to do.

Stepping silently into the room, Kai slips in beside a certain blonde haired Spaniard who immediately welcomes his presence with a warm smile, shifting slightly so that his shoulder brushes against Kai's. Tilting his head back, Kai gazes up into his stunning blue eyes, a small smile of warmth also gracing his lips. He releases a small sigh as Miguel discreetly takes his hand in his, their fingers entwining themselves together. Resisting the urge to lean his head against Miguel's shoulder, Kai instead turns his attention to the large group of bladers before him, eyeing them off with subtle suspicion.

He has been secretly seeing Miguel for months now, almost a year actually. A year next month to be precise.

And they're going to do something really special for their one year anniversary. Let's just say it includes a secluded cabin on the beach and a week with no interruptions at all. Just the two of them, together, to do whatever they please. It's almost like a honeymoon, equipped with certain honeymoon activities…

Ahem…

The reason why they've kept their relationship a secret is fairly simply at the beginning; they didn't want anyone else to know as he knows for certain a small group of his fellow bladers don't exactly agree with same sex relationship. Kai could careless what they think, he's only concerned what they would say or do to Miguel. Say anything they want about him, but attack his boyfriend and you might as well start digging your own grave now.

However, they have told a few individuals. The blitz boys pretty much found out right away. Damn Ian and that portable camera of his. He had to clean his room everyday for a week just so Ian wouldn't use that tape of him and Miguel in a rather intimate -down right hot in Bryan's opinion- act together. Eventually, though he found that godforsaken camera and kept the film to himself.

Others who also know about them are of course Claude, who is Miguel's best friend from childhood and they tell each other everything. Claude was surprised at first, but quickly offered his congratulations. He's genuinely happy for his best friend, happy in knowing that he has finally found a piece of happiness in a life that has been less than spectacular. For the both of them.

And the other is Raul, who is in a secret relationship of his own; with Tala Ivanov.

They've been together for a few months now, and they have a very sweet relationship. Despite what many people think, Tala isn't some pervy redhead -although he does have his weak moments- and doesn't like to get in arguments all that much, unless of course, it's against someone who hurt his Raul. Then he'll pile drive them into the cement and then piss on their grave.

Yes, Tala is a little bit protective of Raul, not that Kai can blame him. Since learning of each other's relationships, the two of them have grown close. Kai is the first person Raul runs to when Tala does something he doesn't quite understand. Kai is Raul's confident and older brother figure.

And what Raul really needs is someone who would stand up for him, to help him gain a bit of self-confidence and someone to protect him whenever he feels slightly vulnerable.

Tala offers him physically protection while Kai offers him verbal. If something happens to Raul, Tala's first instincts is to hold him in his arms and look after him while Kai's instinct is to verbally rip the person who hurt him apart with words of malice. Of course, once Tala is sure Raul is ok, and if it's possible, it's his turn to physically rip that person a new one.

Raul is a shy and often at times seems emotionally unstable. He has a good relationship with his sister, Julia, but she has this domineering personality and tends to take out her frustrations on Raul, who simply cannot for the life of him, fight back. She cares about her slightly younger brother, but she is also often the first one to pick on him, prompting others to do so; but only if she starts it.

Looking over the group of bladers again, Kai's gaze immediately falls on the subject of his thoughts. Raul is standing quiet stiffly as two short bladers of mischief, Daichi and his newfound compliance, Kevin, certain him, seemingly poking fun at him.

Kai presses his lips into a thin line and must've tighten his grip on Miguel's hand as his sexy lover glances in his direction before glancing off towards Raul to discreetly call him over. Miguel knows all about Kai's brotherly friendship with Raul and in truth, helps him to fall even deeper in love with the dual hair enigma.

Raul glances up and his expression lightens a little when he spies Kai and quickly makes his way over to him, finding a sense of protection away from the teasing in Kai's presence. Relaxing slightly, Raul releases a sigh of relief.

"I'll talk with them later," Kai says under his breath, casting a critical eye at the two much shorter bladers.

"When is Tala coming?" Raul asks softly, his voice holding a tinge of sadness mixed with hope. It's been a month since he's been able to be with Tala and has missed him greatly.

And from the phone calls Kai gets from Tala in the middle of the night to whine in his ear, Kai dare concludes that Tala feels the same.

Glancing down at his watch, Kai realizes that he probably should have left a few minutes ago. "I should probably leave now," he mutters.

"No, no, NO!" A loud and familiar voice echoes over the murmurs. Everyone quickly turns their attention to Tyson with a mild sense of amusement in their gazes. "I refuse to play Charades! I hate that game!"

"Only because you suck at it," Hilary is quick to point out, earning herself a few snickers from her fellow girlfriends.

Max, the ever peacemaker of the group, quickly butts in before the every familiar brawls between Tyson and Hilary erupts with a suggestion of his own. "Why don't we just past the time playing truth or dare?"

Rolling his eyes at the suggestion, Kai can help but feel a sense of annoyance. He has never liked that game, for him it simply leads to trouble. People forced to do things they don't want to do, humiliating themselves, answering embarrassing questions. It's a vile game and should be sent back to the bowels of hell where it originated.

Kai reluctantly removes his hand from Miguel's, letting his fingers trail of his arms to silently reassure him that he won't be gone long and turns to give Raul a look of reassurance as well. He hopes to sneak out of the room unnoticed by those around him. With luck he can get out and be back before anyone knows he's missing.

"Hey Kai." So much for luck, Kai inwardly groans. Turning around, Kai raises an eyebrow in Max's direction, who is sitting on the floor with his back against the wall of the dojo, looking up at him with a sense of expectation.

"Want to play, Kai?" he asks, making everyone else turn their attention towards him.

Again, Kai inwardly groans. He hates being the centre of attention. "I have better things to do at the moment," he says, trying to sound polite, but ends up muttering under his breath. "like picking the flint out of my pocket."

Miguel, with surprisingly superb hearing catches the gripe and chuckles softly to himself. "Need a hand?" he asks, just as silently, causing Kai to bite the inside of his mouth to stop himself from smiling.

"What did you say, Kai?" Max asks, seemingly picking up that there might be a silent conversation going on that he can't hear.

"I said I had to pick the blitzkrieg boys up from the airport," Kai quickly answers which seems to earn him a feminine whine from the corner of the room. Yet again raising an eyebrow in question, Kai turns his attention towards the noise and has to resist the urge to roll his eyes skyward when his gaze collide with the color pink.

Mariah folds her arms over her chest and pouts with an expression of annoyance marring her feline features. "They're coming, too?"

"Mariah…" Lee hisses at her in a warning tone, but only response he gets is Mariah turning her back on him and sticking her noise into the air.

"Yes, they are," Kai replies, trying his best to keep the air of annoyance from his tone, knowing all to well that Mariah, and her new best friend Emily, don't like the blitz boys all that much. Hell, they appear to hate them. "I asked them to come with the sole purpose of ruining your life. Sorry, about that."

"Couldn't the blitz boys get a taxi or something?" Eddy asks from the opposite corner of the room, a small sense of hope in his voice in diverting a potential verbal fight. The basketball player is oddly politer than the rest of his American teammates and tends to keep the peace the best he can. When Kai first meet him, he assumed that he's be as arrogant and obnoxious as the rest of his teammates, however he soon learned that he is actually quite softly spoken and rarely brags about his endeavors.

"I'd rather pick them up," Kai replies to his answer, his tone just as soft as he has no ill feelings towards him, but can't help but wince at the thought of the blitz boys crammed in the back of a taxi, Ian purposely giving the driver the wrong directions and the bill that Kai will have to pay when they finally do arrive.

"I'm going now," Kai announces as he turns to leave, but not before sharing a look of promise that he'll return soon with Miguel and a look of reassurance that he'll be fine on his own with Raul.

"Just one more thing before you go," Ray suddenly butts him, causing Kai to inwardly groan with annoyance at being held up again.

"What?" Kai bites out.

A devious feline grin appears on Ray's lips as he asks a simply question. "Truth or dare?"

Kai sends Ray a glare before sighing in defeat and biting out a quick reply. "Truth."

If at all possible, Ray's grin turns even more mischievous. "If you were in a secret relationship and wanted to come out to the world, how would you do it?"

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Oh, how is Kai going to answer this question? You'll just have to wait and see!

Please review.


	2. Chapter 2

Reviews: Big thanks to: sasukoi, Petalwhisker X Fireheart, Mizuki hikari, Thegoldenlock, Tenshi of Freedom, saturnz-moonlit-beauty, MarianQ, LunaLocket, FluorescentBlackNightmare, pinball62, Shyki, Ugawa, yonokom, kaitouahiru, missconfused7, Destiny Kitty and Blaze Queenie!! Thanks so much, all of you!

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Chapter 2:

"If you were in a secret relationship and wanted to come out to the world, how would you do it?" Ray asks.

A deafening silence fills the room and everyone once again turn their attention to Kai, looks of intrigue and complexity on their faces.

Kai ignores the stares around him and raises a questioning eyebrow in Ray's direction. Inwardly, he mutters, feeling intense annoyance at his obvious underestimation of his neko teammate. Ray has probably had suspicions of his 'good friendship' with Miguel for a really long time now. He's too observant, that one.

Oh well, if he wants to play that game, let him. But he will find a way to get him back. Oh, he can certainly promise that…

"Well," Kai drawls casually and coolly as he turns around to face everyone's stares. "First I'd ask my partner if it's ok with him," he says, emphasizing the word him. "Next I'd wait until everyone I knew gathered in one place, ie, a reunion of some kind. Then I'd walk up to my partner, wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him passionately."

A stun silence fills the room as the majority of his fellow bladers gawk at him like he just spoken in an alien language. Which would probably be right. Since when does the badass of Beyblade talk about anything other then finding a stronger opponent?

Looking over his shoulder to Miguel, Kai can't help but let a small smile grace his lips when he notices a look of amusement on Miguel's face. He also has a look of wanton, like he really wants Kai to fulfill that previous statement.

And if Miguel keeps looking at him like that, he might just do it.

Glancing over to the other occupants in the room, Kai feels his irritation returning ten fold when he realizes that some of them are looking at him with disapproval, no doubt picking up on the earlier emphasis of _him._

"I then would punch out anyone who made any gagging noises or any rude comments," Kai adds with a threatening hiss, turning his narrowing eyes in the direction of the disapprovals. "I would then kiss my partner again, tell him I'll be back shortly, and then leave, not giving a shit what anyone else thinks."

The looks of disapproval soon disappear at the threat of violence, most knowing that even though Kai is petite and light; he can pack a punch that will leave you seeing stars for weeks. However, not everyone realizes this little fact.

"He?" Rick asks in a gruff voice, his large muscular arms folded tightly across his chest. "Are you gay, or something?"

Kai's eyebrow gives a sudden twitch at the question. "I suppose you can say I was gay, although being known as a something seems more appealing."

From his position on the floor, Ray laughs good naturedly and shakes his head with amusement. "Good answer, Kai," he says before giving Kai a pointed look. "Well?"

Kai blinks his ruby red eyes slowly before he simply shrugs, tilting his head to the side ever so slightly to gaze into Miguel's eyes. Miguel easily catches the silent question and nods his consent, a small smile making its way onto his lips. A smile also appears on Kai's lips as he silently crosses the room, moving to stand a mere few inches before Miguel. Ignoring the gasps of surprise from a few of the members of the audience, Kai lifts his arms and wraps them securely around Miguel's neck, having Miguel's arms wrap around his waist in turn. They take a moment to gaze briefly into each other's eyes before letting their eyelids fall close and they close the gap between them.

Tilting his head to the side, Kai leans up on his toes to pull himself deeper into the already passionate kiss. Blatantly ignoring everyone else in the room, either that or they're so caught up in the kiss that they've forgotten about them, they continue to kiss heatedly, lips moving hungrily against each others.

Watching the passionate display playing out before him with a dark blush marring his features, Raul can't help but feel a sense of awe at how brave Kai and Miguel are. They've just oust themselves in front of everyone and neither one seems to be embarrassed.

Folding his hands over his heart, Raul can't help but feel a bit guilty. He has a hard time kissing Tala in public in fear that someone will see them. It must be frustrating for Tala, despite being a part of days or weeks at a time, he isn't allowed to kiss him in public because of that fear. Tala, for his part though, is very patient which only intensifies Raul's guilt.

One day he might find the courage to actually come out about his relationship, but…what would his sister think? She isn't exactly fond of Tala, hence the reason why he's so scared to be with him in public.

The sound of someone gagging pulls Raul out of his thoughts and he turns his forest green eyes, letting them fall upon the form of a bulky American, who seems to be staring at the passionately embracing pair with a look of disgust.

Great. Raul visibly winces. Seems as though they might have a homophobe amongst them.

A flash of light causes Raul to wince again. Trying to ignore the stars dancing before his eyes by the sudden intrusion, Raul glances amongst the audience and immediately realizes that Hilary just took a picture of the pair as she is giddily holding a camera to her chest, not letting anyone touch it.

Raul can't help but deadpan. It appears that they also have a yaoi fangirl amongst them as well.

Looking around at the audience again, Raul's gaze falls upon a certain silver haired martial artist. Garland seems to staring at the embracing pairing, a light blush crossing the bridge of his nose, but his eyes holding a sense of longing. It's like he wishes he could experience something so passionate.

Tilting his head to the side just a little, Raul looks upon Garland with a thoughtful gaze as he recalls Kai once telling him that he suspects that Garland may have a crush on the badass from Russia, Bryan.

Could it be true?

Breaking the kiss with one last drawn out caress, Kai stays in Miguel's arms for a moment, letting his fingers trail down his cheek in a loving manner before reluctantly pulling himself out of his embrace. He then turns around, immediately pinning Rick with a fearsome glare, his hands knotting into fists as they rest on his slender hips. Then, without so much as making a noise, Kai crosses the room, letting one of his hands drop from his hip to hang limply by his side as he approaches. But when he's less than a foot away, he raises that hand, still curled tightly into a fist, and with one swift movement, let his knuckles collide with Rick's nose. A loud crack echoes through the oddly silent dojo, the sound of a body hitting the floor follows shortly after.

Sitting on the floor in stun silence, Rick lifts his fingers to touch his nose, wincing immediately as white pain shoots into his head. He pulls his hand back and sees blood.

Spinning on his heel, Kai turns around and walks back towards Miguel. He places his hands on his shoulders and kisses him softly on the lips. "I won't be long," he promises as he pulls away.

Walking boldly through the stunned onlookers, Kai pauses in the doorway, his back to everyone. "If anyone says anything bad about me when I'm gone, so what?" he says before looking over his shoulder and giving everyone a hard glare. "But if any of you dare say a bad word against Miguel, I'll come back to kick your ass, is that clear?" Several nods from the stunned audience brings a smile to Kai's face. "Good."

Biting his lip to stop himself from laughing out loud the entire time, Ray waits until Kai leaves the room and can no longer hear his footsteps before he lets out a much needed chuckle. "He's great, isn't he?" he asks through the sniggers as a few of the others around him visibly relax, also chuckles softly.

"He broke my nose!" Rick whines from the floor, Michael and Eddy kneeling by his side to check the damage.

"Calm down," Eddy orders as he finally pulls Rick's hand away from his nose to get a better look at the injury. He inspects it for a moment before releasing a small sigh of relief. "It isn't broken. It looks like Kai was holding back."

"Either way, he did give you a warning," Miguel says with a sense of smugness as he turns to face him. "So you'll get no sympathy from me."

"How do you put up with that?" Rick asks, his voice demanding as he points a now bloody hand in the direction Kai just disappeared in.

Quelling the sense of annoyance that's bubbling in his chest, Miguel simply rolls his eyes towards the ceiling. "I don't put up with anything. You're just annoyed that someone less than half your size gave you a bloody nose," he says, a small and almost sadistic smile appearing on his lips. "Honestly, someone should have taken a picture of that."

Everyone sniggers quietly to themselves.

"Don't feel bad, Rick," Max says as he moves over to give the disgruntle blader a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "No one can beat Kai when he's in protective mode."

Rick merely grumbles something incoherent under his breath as he climbs to his feet and stalks out of the room, no doubt heading for the bathroom. Everyone watches him leave, some with looks of amusement while others have sympathy adorning their faces.

"Ok," Tyson says as he claps his hands once in front of him. "Who wants to go next?"

Miguel turns his attention to the younger blader and raises an eyebrow at him. "Aren't you going to ask any questions about me and Kai?" he asks. He had envisioned this scenario, where they finally come out about their relationship to be a little bit different. He had expected a bit of yelling, cries of disbelief and accusations about how same-sex relationships are wrong.

He certainly wasn't expecting stun silence. Of course, he didn't exactly expect Kai to oust them the way he did. Not that he's complaining or anything.

"Are you kidding?" Tyson scoffs at the idea and folds his arms over his chest. "Ask the wrong question and have Kai belt me one? I don't think so. I might like to charge headfirst into battles, but I'm not that suicidal."

Miguel can't help but laugh at that as a few of his other fellow bladers nod their heads in agreement. It appears that Kai's presence is to be either well respected…or utterly feared.

"How about I go next?" Max asks, hoping to draw the attention back to the game itself. A smile makes an appearance when he receives nods of agreement. "Ok Tyson, truth or dare?"

--

Laughter rings out through the once silent dojo as bladers from all over the world seem to be enjoying themselves with one of the most cliché games known to man. Truth or Dare.

The game is going…well. A few dares have been dished out, some quiet humorous like getting Tyson to do the whole dance of the Macarena while singing the verses, to embarrassing like the usually docile Eddy to make a crank and abusive phone call to the downright weird like getting Enrique to climb into Max's lap and kiss him on the lips.

And the strange bit is that Enrique actually did it, and neither of the blondes blushed. Is there something going on between those two?

The truths are just as embarrassing. Robert was asked who of the blitz boys would be rather kiss. Spencer, Robert answered with his usual calm and sophistication. But even so he wasn't able to stop the blush that appeared on his cheeks the moment that question was asked. However, he took it on the chin like a good nobleman he is.

Although, it appears that the purple haired German is now plotting revenge against Enrique, who asked him that sordid question. It appears that Enrique might know something that everyone else does not.

Hmm, there seems to be a lot of secrets going round.

"Ok," Julia giggles after finishing her dare to wear her hair in two overly teased pigtails, now furiously trying to get the knots out, and turns to her brother. "Raul, Truth or Dare?"

Wincing after realizing that there is no way he can get out of it, Raul reluctantly replies. "Um…truth?"

"Ok, um…" a smirk suddenly appears on Julia's lips as a really devious question appears in her mind. She turns to her brother to look almost sweetly at him. "Have you had your first kiss yet and if so, who was it?"

Raul's visibly pales. _Oh no…_

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There, chapter 2 done!

Please review.


	3. Chapter 3

Reviews: Many heartfelt thanks to; kaitouahiru, chrono-contract, Blaze Queenie, sasukoi, Thegoldenlock, Tenshi of Freedom, Kayland Elric, LunaLocket, Ugawa, pinball62, XxSweet MitsukaixX and Destiny Kitty!

Chapter 3! I hope you like! A bit of swearing in this chapter, and chapters to come actually. Just a warning X3

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"Well?" Julia prods her brother, smiling a sickly sweet smile as she awaits his answers, appearing to already know the response. "Who was your first kiss?"

Blushing as red as a tomato, Raul falls silent as a memory dated only a few months back resurfaces in his mind.

--Flash back--

Sniffling, Raul rubs at his eyes with the back of his sleeve, but tears still continue to fall. Thin cuts and scraps cover his petite frame, clothes torn and ripped in multiple places. Clutching his damaged blade to his chest, Raul slowly makes his way through the empty streets, tears continuing to fall with each step of pain he takes.

"Why did that guy attack me like that?" Raul asks himself, his voice hitching in his throat. "I didn't even want to battle."

Poor Raul, a victim of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. An up and coming blader challenged him to a fight, but Raul was unprepared for the deadly extremes his opponent was willing to take. The battle was eventually won by Raul, but not without cost. His blade is badly damaged and so is he.

But he can't go home looking like this. What would his sister say? She'll no doubt scowl him for being weak and a cry baby.

Raul is so deep in thought that he isn't watching where he is going and he foot catches a seemingly well placed stone, causing him to roll his ankle, making him lose his balance and fall towards the hard and dusty earth.

However, instead of hitting the hard and cold concrete, he finds himself falling against something warm and oddly comforting. More warmth encircles him in the form of two arms. Its then that Raul realizes that he had fallen against someone and no longer in fear of hitting the hard ground below.

But who would catch him in such a pathetic way?

"You're safe now," a familiar voice whispers into his ear, causing Raul's eyes to widen with realization.

"Tala?" Raul whispers as he lifts his head and finds himself gazing into a pair of icy blue eyes, eyes that are now casting nothing but blatant concern down at him. Concern for his well being. More tears fill Raul's eyes when he realizes his crush, his long time crush, is worried about him and is now holding him tenderly.

He squeezes his eyes shut and grasps desperately at Tala's jacket. "It hurts," he whimpers.

"What happened?" Tala asks softly.

"I was attack by a street blader," Raul explains through his tears. His tears begin to ease however when Tala tightens his arms around him, holding him in a warm and tender embrace, giving Raul a sense that he truly is safe and protected. A feeling he truly has never felt before until now.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there," Tala whispers into his ear, making Raul shiver ever so softly as his warm breath caresses the bare skin of his neck. Raul isn't exactly sure why Tala is apologizing, there was nothing he could have done, was there?

Pulling back in the embrace ever so slightly, Raul looks up into Tala's eyes, to ask him why he is apologizing, but then he feels Tala run a hand through his hair, caressing him gently and imperceptibly tilting his face towards him. Becoming lost in the moment, Raul feels his head fall back a bit and his lips part in anticipation, his cheeks heating up considerably.

Slowly, Tala's mouth closes over his, and Raul finds himself being swallowed up in a wave of fierce pleasure. Suddenly, there is no distance between them at all as Tala holds him even close to his tall and powerful frame. Tala's tongue teases the corners of his mouth before slipping inside, searching and tasting with such a boldness that is left Raul's heart pounding loudly in his chest. With one last drawn out caress, Tala pulls back slowly, back keeping Raul as close to him as possible.

Panting softly, Raul keeps his eyes shut, trying his best to digest what had just transpired. He has had a crush on Tala ever since he first laid eyes on the Russian during the third world tournament. After sharing such a heated kiss, does Tala like him that way as well?

A gentle caress against his cheek pulls Raul out of his thoughts and he slowly opens his eyes. He gazes into Tala's icy blue orbs, becoming lost in his gaze. No more words are said between them as they are not necessary. Just by looking into Tala's eyes, Raul knows that Tala feels the same way and he wants to protect him in anyway that he can.

And Raul realizes in that exact moment that he wants to be protected by Tala and only Tala.

--End of flash back--

"Well?" Julia prods again, getting impatient. "Who was your first kiss?"

"Julia," Miguel tries to butt in, seeing that Raul is obviously reluctant and embarrassed to say anything. He only wishes Kai would hurry up. No one can change a subject or drop a conversation faster than Kai can. "Maybe you should leave him alone."

"No," Julia says, her lips pressing into a thin line of annoyance. "Everyone else had to answer their question truthfully and so should he."

"Just answer the damn question," Rick gripes, having rejoined the group with an ice pack to his nose. "And let's move on, this is getting dull."

"It's alright, Raul," Ray tells him gently with a reassuring tone. "You can tell us."

Knotting his hands in his lap, Raul chews on his bottom lip. "It was…"

"Yes…?" Julia stresses.

"Tala."

Once again a stun silence fills the room.

Julia stares at her brother in completely disbelief, completely and utter shock taking her whole. She thought her brother hadn't kissed anyone before so that's why she asked. She didn't expect her brother to have kissed Tala of all people.

"What?!" she cries in disbelief, immediately climbing to her feet to tower over her slightly younger brother. "I can't believe it!"

"Julia…?" Raul whimpers softly.

"No," Julia shakes her head abruptly. "You're lying, you have to be. No, Tala, he's forced you, didn't he?"

Raul immediately springs to his feet at the accusation. "He wouldn't do that!" he cries, tears already threatening to fall from his eyes.

"How do you know he wouldn't?" Julia snaps, her face holding an expression of sheer anger. "For Christ's sake, you've heard what he's done in the past."

"Yes I have, and I don't care!" Raul exclaims, steadily becoming more emotional with each outburst. "It's in the past, it's doesn't matter now."

"Doesn't matter?" Julia repeats, a look of sheer disgust mixing with the anger. "You've lost it. How do you know he won't change back?"

"I just know!" Now tears a freely falling from his eyes, rolling with steady streams down his cheeks.

"How?!" Julia demands.

"I trust him, ok!" Covering his face in his hands, Raul stands there in the middle of the room, sobbing into his hands. A moment later he drops his hands to hang by his sides, limply at first before curling into fists. "I love him and there's nothing you can say or do that will change my mind!"

Turning around abruptly, Raul runs out of the room, into the hallway and out the front door, not realizing that it is now raining heavily in torrents or that he had to push past the disgruntle Russian team, the Blitzkrieg boys.

"Raul?" Tala says in surprise as he watches the tiny circus star rush past, stumbling over his own feet, desperate to get away. Then he saw them, streams of crystalline tears flowing freely down his flustered cheeks.

Bryan raises an eyebrow in concern. "Was he crying?" he asks out loud.

"He was," Tala mutters, in concern before that concern melts away into anger. "Dammit! Did something happen?"

"They were playing truth or dare when I left," Kai explains, also glancing in the direction Raul just disappeared in with concern. His concern soon turns to anger as well as he abruptly snaps his attention towards the dojo. "They may have found out about your relationship."

"And they fucking turned on him?!" Tala snarls dangerously, bearing his fangs. "Grr, I don't care what they say about me, but to gang up on Raul like that?"

"Go on, Tala," Kai suddenly orders, giving Tala a push on the shoulder. "Follow him; I'll take care of everything inside."

Tala seems to hesitate for a moment, a part of him so desperately wants to find and comfort Raul, but another part him, the more dangerous part, wants to go inside and go on a complete and utter rampage. "You sure?"

"Oh yes," Kai replies, his eyes mirroring the anger Tala feels.

Tala smirks, knowing that no one will get away from Kai when he's like this. "Just leave some for me."

Kai abruptly turns on his heel and starts to walk inside. "I won't make any promises I can't keep."

Tala quickly turns around and darts out the gate, into the blinding rain, the name of his sweet and gentle lover on his lips. Spencer watches Kai's back with a critical glance. He opens his mouth to question the young enigma when the front door opens again and a certain silver haired martial artist makes an appearance.

"Oh, Kai," Garland mutters in surprise, his shock growing when he spies two more with him. His blue eyes widen when they collide with a pair of emerald green orbs. Despite his concern for his fellow blader, he can't seem to stop a light blush from appearing on his cheeks as he stares into Bryan's eyes. He, however, quickly shakes his head and turns a concern glance at the Russian's before him.

"Did Raul pass through here?" he asks.

"Yes," Kai answers sharply, still glaring hatefully towards the dojo's entrance behind him.

"Want us to come?" Spencer suddenly asks, motioning to Garland as well. "Or help Tala find Raul?"

"Spencer, you stay here to restrain me from getting physical," Kai orders in a no nonsense tone. He then places his hand in his pocket and pulls out a set of keys, throwing them over his shoulder for Bryan to catch. "Bryan and Garland, you two help Tala find Raul and then take him back to my apartment to get cleaned up."

"What?" Bryan says in surprise and a hint of irritation as he effortlessly catches the keys. "But I want to see the blood bath."

Knowing that Kai is in no mood for any compromise, Spencer takes Bryan by the shoulder and pushes him through the front entrance and out into the rain. "Now, Bryan."

Bryan huffs and folds his arms over his chest in a pout. "You're no fun," he mutters but does as he is told. He waits for Garland to move beside him before the two of them dash out into the rain soaked streets. Bryan suppresses a shiver when he realizes how cold the rain really is. And he's wearing a jacket. As he recalls, Raul is only wearing a shirt with jeans.

"Dammit," he mutters as he quickens his pace, trying to catch up with Tala, Garland easily keeping pace. "He'll freeze to death out here."

* * *

Aw, poor Raul. Mustn't worry, Tala will make him feel better. And Kai is going to let the fur fly in the next chapter!

Please review.


	4. Chapter 4

Reviews: X3 Thankies to; Shyki, sasukoi, Blaze Queenie, ugawa, Kaz-za-15, Thegoldenlock, pinball62, Tenshi of Freedom, Rapunzelle, BloodRedViolet, XxSweet MitsukaixX, Dranza the Phoenix Goddess, LunaLocket, kaitouahiru, Demon of Selen, chrono-contract, russian and cute blader lover and Destiny Kitty!!

Warnings: A bit of swearing, surprisingly from Kai and Miguel X3 I hope you enjoy!

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A sense of dread settles in the pit of Miguel's stomach as the war of words rage between brother and sister. Tears of betrayal and devastation flow freely like rivers down Raul's cheeks as he screams at his sister, who in turn screams back just as loud.

"This isn't going to end well," Miguel mutters to himself as he tries to figure out a way to stop this fight from progressing further. He really wished Kai was here. He can stop an argument dead in its tracks with a simple flick of his tongue.

Miguel himself, is no pushover when it comes to fights either, Kai just seems to have a better way with words than he does.

"I love him and there's nothing you can say or do that will change my mind!" Raul suddenly cries, emitting his love for Tala to everyone in the room subconsciously with a sense of defiance in his voice.

As the words ring through the sudden silence, Raul abruptly turns on his heel and bolts for the door, clumsily stumbling into anyone in his way.

"Ah, Raul!" Miguel calls as he follows but as he steps into the hallway, he can't see any sign of him. Did he run out through the front door and into the rain? He'll get sick in this terrible weather!

"I'll go after him," Garland suddenly mutters and before anyone has a chance to reply, takes off through the door as well, following in Raul's footsteps.

"Dammit!" Miguel curses as he steps back inside, slamming the door shut behind him in anger, turning a narrow gaze to Julia who is standing in the middle of the room, her face holding a sense of anger. Miguel takes Julia's objection to Raul's relationship with Tala to heart as well. He is also rather fond of Raul. He's a sweet kid who wouldn't hurt a fly.

He's also friends with Tala and to hear her say such things about him, looking down at him as some kind of deranged criminal only makes his anger boil. Kai was in the abbey once as well. He was trained as a solider too; does that mean she sees him as a heartless jackass as well?

Oh, she better not. Kai isn't the only one with a protective mode.

"What's wrong with you?" he asks her with a hiss in his voice. "Why can't you just accept Tala for who he is?"

Julia snaps her head up, a look of surprise on her face for a split second before it turns into anger and frustration. "Because he's Tala Ivanov," she hisses in reply, sounding like the answer should have been obvious.

Miguel merely narrows his eyes at the response, his glare looking suspicious like the glare of death Kai has perfected over time. "Oh right, Tala Ivanov, the fucking anti-Christ, I forgot," he says with sarcasm and frustration heavy in his voice.

Choosing to ignore the blatant sarcasm and the uncomfortable stares around her, Julia defiantly folds her arms over her chest and continues to appear angry, like she's the victim in this whole mess. "I wouldn't trust him as far as I could kick him."

"You don't seem to trust your brother either," Miguel is quick to point out, earning himself a bristle of indignity from the young female.

"He was in the Abbey!" she all but screams, throwing her arms into the air in a sign of frustration. "You've heard all the rumors about that place. Those kids were like tiny solders, trained to hurt people, how do I know they won't hurt Raul?"

Slam!

The door suddenly flies open, slamming against the wall behind it and nearly falls of its hinges. A heavy silence fills the room immediately as many of the unwilling occupants swallow thickly with fear, cringing at the presence of the Beyblade enigma. The aura that Kai is emitting is a dark and dangerous one, which seems to cause the room temperature to physically drop a few degrees.

"What the hell is going on," Kai growls, his eyes narrow and as dangerous as his aura.

"Hey Kai," Tyson greets him with a somewhat friendly and nervous grin as he tries desperately to break the tension. "How you doing? The Blitzkrieg boys here?"

But just as that question passes his lips, the sight of a very tall and muscular blonde steps into view behind Kai, towering over his much shorter friend, but his presence doesn't appear to be nearly as threatening as the small teen before him. Looking around the room at all the shocked face, Spencer bites the inside of his mouth to stop himself from smirking. Despite not likening to be the center of attention, Kai sure knows how to take away the spotlight from someone, doesn't he?

"That they are, Tyson," Kai replies slowly, but does not glance in his direction. His voice is even and calm, but his eyes hold a vicious edge to them, narrow and fiery. He takes a step into the room and the room's temperature seems to drop a few degrees more, causing a few of the less outspoken bladers to shiver with a sense of fear and back away. "Tala, however, followed little Raul out into the freezing rain."

Although knowing how much danger he would be in to question Kai at this point in time, Enrique so desperately wants to query Kai about the little Raul comment, but receives a quick jab to the ribs by Max, who simply shakes his head at him, mentally telling him that now is not the best time to ask.

"Can someone explain to me why Raul ran out of here, crying his eyes out?" Kai asks the quiet group.

Silence. Complete and utter silence.

"Ok," Kai sighs with frustration, the delicate eyebrow just above his right eye gives a sudden twitch. "I'll ask one more time, but if no one answers me this time, I'm going to turn violent," the tone in Kai's voice is nothing short of deadly and the threat of violence hangs heavily in the air.

Just to add more affect to the promise of absolute and sheer torment, a loud crack of thunder roars from the sky as lightening rains down, illuminating Kai's figure. But even though the thunder was loud and the lighting severe, Kai doesn't even twitch.

"Why in god's good name did Raul run out of here?" Kai asks once again. "And someone better bloody well answer me."

Miguel looks over the group, noticing that the once outspoken Julia is standing quiet in the middle of the room. He too sighs in frustration at everyone and turns to face Kai, not finding him remotely intimidating. "He ran out of here because _someone-_," he stresses, looking directly at Julia, who seems to inwardly wince. "-didn't agree with him being in a relationship with Tala."

"Oh, really…?" Kai drawls, stepping further into the room, each step precise and seemingly threatening, stopping a few feet from Julia. "Is that so?"

Subconsciously Julia takes a step backwards, inwardly reeling at the absolute hatred on Kai's face. She glances around the room, looking for some sort of support from the others, but they all appear reluctant to interfere, some even appear to looking at her with their own sense of frustration and annoyance.

Miguel is the most prominent figure with that sort of emotion. He releases a pent up sigh of annoyance and moves to stand behind Kai. He places a hand on his shoulder and whispers into his ear, the scowl on Kai's face darkening with each passing second.

Hoping and praying that there is a way to prevent what is to come, a few of the bladers try to turn the conversation elsewhere as they turn their attention towards the Russian blonde standing in the background, appearing to be more body guard than blader.

"So, how you doing Spencer?" Tyson asks, desperately trying to gain the blonde's attention. "What brings you here?"

As soon as that question left his mouth, Tyson knew it was a very stupid question as the Russian slowly turns to him, his sea green eyes seeming piercing right into his soul. "I'm here to prevent Kai from murdering anyone," he replies in a clear and precise voice, a small devious grin playing on his lips. "If I feel like it of course."

The response causes Tyson and a few others to sigh, knowing that there is no way in hell they can prevent the verbal lashing Julia is about to receive.

May God have mercy on her, because it's certain Kai and the Blitzkrieg boys most certainly will not…

Lifting up his hand, Kai successfully silences the room, once again training all eyes his way. "I was in the abbey too, doesn't that make me a cold hearted prick?" he states more so than asks, not giving the young woman in front of him a chance to reply. "And yet, I noticed that you didn't say anything against my relationship with Miguel."

Despite feeling tears prick at the back of her eyes, Julia swallows thickly and tries to stay defiant. "That's different."

"How is that different?" Kai demands more than asks. "The only difference I see is that we're not related and that I have absolutely no problem talking back to you. And believe it or not, Miguel has a tongue just as sharp as mine. He's just not as willing to use he's as much as I am."

Despite the serious and deadly atmosphere in the room, a small smile appears on Miguel's face at those words. He thinks Julia probably already knows he has an acid tongue already.

"Do you know what I think?" Kai continues, still not giving Julia a chance to say anything. "I think you're objecting to this relationship because you think Raul can do so much better. I understand that," he says with a genuine look of understanding flittering across his features before turning to anger again. "But to have a fight with him that resulted in Raul running out of here crying his eyes out, now that I don't understand."

Julia swallows thickly again, her resolve to play the victim slowly crumbling with each truthful word. "I just don't want him to get hurt."

"Well, he most certainly wasn't crying tears of fucking joy!" Kai cries, curling his hands into fists by his sides, his profile trembling slight as he tries to suppress his anger. "Tala wasn't even here, so you can't blame him, so that leaves one person who hurt him here today, and that's you."

"Why are you like this?" Julia asks, now letting tears to fall from her eyes, tears that have been threatening to fall the moment this whole thing started. "He's not your brother!"

"If he was, he wouldn't be out there in the pouring rain, crying!"

"Kai…" Miguel says gently, seeing that Kai is taking this objection to Raul's relationship a little 

too personally and debates whether or not he should try to stop this from progressing further. He believes that Julia deserves more verbal lashings from Kai, but he doesn't want his precious lover to get too distressed.

"No, I'm not done yet," Kai suddenly says, replying to Miguel's silent question with an abrupt shake of his head. He takes a moment to regard Miguel with his eyes softening a little, silently telling him that he needs to continue a little bit more yet before turning back to his one-sided verbal sparing match.

Drawing a deep breath, Kai continues. "Listen, believe it or not, Raul is like a brother to me. We might not be blood related, but that doesn't matter. He's dating my best friend for heaven's sake, I think that gives me the right to be supportive rather than argumentative, don't you think?"

A sob hitches in Julia's throat and she looks away in shame, guilt replacing the expression of anger completely.

Even though he feels that he has made a point, Kai still feels the need to continue, to prove once and for all that it isn't about who her brother chooses to love, but her reaction to it that really matters the most.

"How about I present you with an example of why your behavior was so inappropriate?" Kai asks, but this time his voice only holds irritation rather than murderous rage. "Max is like a brother to me as well. Do you think I was pleased to learn that he was seeing someone? And even though it surprised me, it didn't matter whether or not he's the dominate one. No offense Max."

Reeling back in surprise, Max blinks his blue eyes slowly for a moment, a nervous laugh escaping his lips when everyone suddenly turns their gazes towards him. "Er, none taken."

"I wanted what was best for him," Kai states as he places a hand on his heart to prove that he is being sincere. "Instead of getting into a fight, I took the time to get to know his boyfriend and can safely say that Enrique is actually very good for Max, despite his outwardly playboy appearance. No offense, Enrique."

Enrique wears a look similar to Max's, his now known boyfriend. "None taken," he replies automatically.

"Jesus Christ!" Johnny exclaims, snapping his attention to his own blonde haired teammate, disbelief blatant on his face. "Who else is in a secret relationship?"

A series of uncomfortable coughs and shuffling of feet causes Johnny to want to take back that question; even more so when he spies a delicate blush spreading across Robert's cheeks and nose, and the sudden interest Spencer has in said German.

"I don't want to know," Johnny mutters as he shakes his head and sinks away.

"You are going to apologize to him," Kai suddenly demands, his anger making an appearance again. "Or so help me God, I'm going to drag you kicking and screaming out into the pouring rain and make you apologize myself!"

"Ok," Miguel suddenly announces as he abruptly takes Kai into his arms and holds him tightly against his chest. "That's enough. I don't think there's anything more to say."

Suddenly, Kai's mobile phone rings, startling everyone in the room.

* * *

Whooo, that was a fun chapter to write actually. Nothing against Julia, I like her actually; I just wanted to try my hand at someone else being the 'bad guy' for once X3 There's going to be fluffy Tala/Raul goodness in the next chapter.

Please review.


	5. Chapter 5

Reviews: BIG hugs and thanks to; Dranza the Phoenix Goddess, sasukoi, Ugawa, orphen chica, chrono-contract, missconfused7, Thegoldenlock, Blaze Queenie, Tenshi of Freedom, pinball62, Rapunzelle, Kayland Elric, XxSweet MitsukaixX, LunaLocket, kaitouahiru, animepie, Destiny Kitty, kit572 and Nameless Little Girl!

Heh, another chapter, another secret pairing revealed X3 Enjoy!

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Chapter 5:

Raul had to get out. He had to get away.

Tears flow freely from his eyes as he turns on his heel and bolts out the door. He is mildly aware that he had to push past someone in his effort to get to the door and heard someone call his name in surprise and puzzlement, but he's far too deep in his emotions to pay any attention. He didn't even pay much mind to the rain only becoming aware of it when he almost trips in a puddle.

He ran. He ran as fast as he could. He didn't know where he was going, or if there was anywhere for him to go, he just had to leave.

He always knew something like this would happen. He always knew that his sister would react badly to his relationship with Tala, but he never imagined that she would react this badly. Heck, she doesn't even know how long he's been dating the redhead Russian. All she knows is that they shared a kiss, his first kiss, somewhere along the line.

How would she have reacted if she learned that he's been seeing Tala for months now?

His chest soon begins to hurt after running so hard while sobbing painfully. He soon finds himself struggling to breath and he falls to his knees, expecting to land hard on the cement but instead his knees sink into the wet sand of the beach. But Raul doesn't register it at that moment, all he can hear is the blood thundering in his head and his harsh breathing as he tries to get air back into his lungs.

After what seems like hours, Raul gets his breathing under control enough for him to take a quick glance at his surroundings, but with tears still cascading from his eyes, everything is a blur. The sound of crashing waves and heavy rain falling around fills his senses.

"I'm at the beach," he whispers softly as he moves to sit on the sand, pulling his legs up to his chest. He wraps his skinny arms around his legs and rests his chin on his knees as he gazes out at the rough sea, his tears all but spent.

Raul is experiencing a sense of denial at the moment, a part of him wishing that this was all a dream. His sister doesn't hate him and she doesn't know about his relationship with Tala. Things are so much easier that way.

"Why?" Raul asks the falling rain. "Why does it have to be this way? I love my sister, but I love Tala as well. Why is Julia making me choose?"

Another sob escapes Raul's throat and he buries his face into his knees, his tiny frame once again trembling with emotion. He feels exhausted, on the brink of falling asleep, but he can't seem to stop crying. The tears are never ending.

Raul wraps his arms tighter around his legs as his mind drifts to his boyfriend. Tala…He wants him here with him, to hold him and to comfort him that no one else but he can.

He needs him…

"_Raul…"_

Raul buries his face deeper into his knees when he realizes that he's longing for Tala's touch so much that his mind is starting to imagine his voice. It sounds so real…

"Raul!"

Snapping his head up at the sharp and precise voice that has a hint of panic within the tone, Raul glances up and blinks multiple times to will away the blurriness of his tears. That voice…could it be?

Soon, through the mist of his tears, a familiar figure emerges. Tall and strong, powerful and comforting; it's him!

"Tala?" Raul croaks softly, silently praying that his mind isn't playing tricks on him.

A split second later he hears someone land on the sand next to him and something warm wrap around his shoulders. Soon, warmth envelopes him completely when he finds himself being drawn into a pair of protective arms and powerful chest.

"I'm here," a voice whispers and Raul knew immediately that Tala is really here. His mind isn't playing tricks on him. The boy he loves with all his heart and soul is here!

"Tala…" Raul whimpers as he buries his face in his chest, suddenly realizing how cold it really is. He clings to Tala's warm and comforting body as his tiny frame shivering uncontrollably from the cold. "She…she said…"

"It doesn't matter," Tala cuts him off as he places a small kiss to his forehead. "That isn't important right now. Let's get you back inside. You're freezing."

But the thought of going back to the dojo frightens Raul and he shakes his head in the negative. "I don't want to go back to the dojo."

"You're not going back there," Tala answers quickly as he holds his tiny lover closer. "They won't hurt you again."

"I'm so glad you're here," Raul whispers, his voice getting softer and softer.

An expression of alarm appears on Tala's face and he looks down at his lover and soon realizes that he is on the verge of falling asleep. "Raul? I need you to stay awake for me."

"I'm sorry," Raul whispers ever so softly. "For being so weak…"

Raul then utters a soft sigh and slumps against Tala complete, his breathing coming out in short, harsh breathes.

"Goddamn fucking shit!" Tala curses as he scoops Raul effortlessly into his arms. He stands to his feet and looks around. "What do I do now?"

--

Squinting his eyes, Bryan peers through the rain sodden streets and realizes that he redheaded captain isn't anywhere to be seen. Tala can move incredibly fast when he's concerned about something, and his concern only doubles when it has something to do with his slightly younger lover, the timid circus star.

Although Bryan would rather cut out his tongue than call anyone adorable, but he can't help but associate that word with Raul. He's cute…in a cuddly sort of way. Ian just loves to glomp the unsuspecting teen, which evokes Tala's jealous side which causes Raul to cutely assure him that he only has feelings for him, which provokes Kai into belting Tala for ever doubting Raul.

Raul is just too…adorable sometimes.

"Dammit," he curses out loud as he stops running, Garland pulling up next to him. "We lost him."

"He couldn't have gotten far, right?" Garland says as he too glances at his surroundings.

Wiping his brow irritably, Bryan frowns as he turns to the shorter silver hair teen next to him. "Do you have any idea where Raul could have gone?"

Garland stays silent for a moment, pressing his lips into a thin line but then shakes his head. "In the state that he was in, I don't think he had a destination in mind," he replies softly, almost with a tone of guilt at not being able to help the adorable teen.

Like Bryan, he finds Raul adorable and a little childlike at times. He's naïve and sweet. Who would want to hurt him? Well, his sister, apparently.

"He just needed to get out," he continues. "He just ran."

"Dammit…" Bryan mutters as he folds his arms over his chest.

Garland nods his head, and then suddenly shivers when he realizes just how cold the rain is. It's almost like liquid ice! Poor Raul is only wearing jeans and a shirt, and Garland himself isn't much better, but that isn't the point. Hopefully Tala will find him soon before he passes out from the cold.

"Oi, you're shivering," Bryan's voice abruptly pulls Garland out of his thoughts. "What the hell were you thinking, running out into the freezing rain without a jacket?" He asks with a sense of scolding in his voice.

Garland blushes at how foolish it was for him to run out without a jacket and wraps his arms around himself as his shivers intensify. He opens his mouth to make a pathetic excuse for his foolishness when he suddenly realizes that Bryan is taking off his jacket. He is about to question the older male when he suddenly throws the article of clothing around his shoulders, drawing it tightly around him.

"You're going to get sick," he stats as a matter-of-fact.

Garland's blush deepens but he grabs onto the jacket with both hands and snuggles into the fabric. "What about you?"

"I'm use to the cold," Bryan answers quickly. "I'll be fine."

Garland senses that Bryan's tone of voice left him no room to argue so he simply nods his head. He turns his gaze to study Bryan as he glances around at his surroundings. "Bryan?"

"Hmm?"

Garland swallows thickly as he takes a step closer to him and places his hands on his shoulders. Ignoring the look of surprise on Bryan's face, Garland leans forward and kisses him softly on the lips for a moment before pulling back, a light blush on his cheeks and he looks off to the side.

"I'm sorry," he says softly. "I've been selfish, haven't I?"

Bryan tilts his head to the side in confusion. "What?"

"About wanting to keep our relationship a secret," Garland explains and takes a step forward to lean against Bryan's chest, subconsciously seeking his warmth. "It's stupid. I know you don't care about what others think. I just realized that it shouldn't matter what they think. I love you, and I will continue to love you no matter what."

Yes, Garland and Bryan have been secretly seeing each other for a long time now, not as long as Kai and Miguel mind you, but they come a close second.

Bryan blinks slowly a few times before placing his arms around Garland's shoulders and pulling him close. "…What brought this on?" he asks as he rests his cheek in his hair.

"Kai actually inspired me to think the same way," Garland tells him, a soft smile spreading across his lips.

"Oh?"

"He came out about his relationship with Miguel in front of everyone," he tells him as a soft chuckle passing his lips when he remembers the blatant shock on everyone's faces when Kai and Miguel shared a very drawn out and passionate kisses. It was a classic moment.

"He pretty much just told them that if they have a problem, then it's their problem," he continues. "If they do anything or say anything against Miguel, he'll beat the shit out of them."

A smirk spreads across Bryan lips when he realizes that that sounds exactly like something Kai would do. "Really?"

Garland nods against his chest, emitting another chuckle. "He confirmed it when he almost broke Rick's nose after he made noises of disgust."

This time Bryan laughs outright. "Pity I missed that."

"Yeah," Garland murmurs as he nuzzles his head under Bryan's chin and sighs softly. "And I get the feeling you would do the same."

"Damn straight," Bryan replies by tightening his hold on his boyfriend.

"Bryan!"

Springing apart at the familiar voice, the two silver hair teens glance around at their surroundings, looking for the owner of the voice.

"Tala?" Bryan calls out into the rain. "Did you find Raul?"

A moment later Tala appears, cradling a shivering Raul against his chest, holding him as close as possible to keep him as warm as he can.

"Is he alright?" Garland asks as he and Bryan jogs over to the redhead, meeting him halfway.

"He fainted," Tala informs him with a slightly panicky tone. "I don't know what to do."

"Kai's apartment," Bryan tells him bluntly, pulling the keys out of his pocket. "Let's get him inside and then I'll call Kai. He'll know what to do."

Garland gently places a hand on Raul's forehead and winces, concern blatant in his eyes. "He has a fever."

"Then let's hurry," Tala said before he pulls Raul closer to his chest and then breaks out into a sprint, Bryan and Garland hot on his heels.

* * *

Ah! Poor Raul! What have they done to you?!

Tala: -_twitches-_ Don't you mean, what did YOU do to him?

…Oh yeah…-_hides-_

Please review.


	6. Chapter 6

Reviews: BIG thanks to; Kizzy Bloom, sasukoi, Dranza, XxSweet MitsukaixX, Blaze Queenie, kit572, Kayland Elric, pinball62, dragonfire7654321, Tenshi of Freedom, naioka1992, Thegoldenlock, Rapunzelle, Tuli-Susi, grimnessreaper, LunaLocket, Shyki, chrono-contract, russian and cute blader lover, CrimsonShadowOfRegret, Destiny Kitty and kaitouahiru for reviewing!

Wow, 22 reviews! Thanks so much!

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The sound of Kai's phone ringing cuts through the awkward silence that settles above the dojo. The sharp noise is a welcome break from the tension for others as they excuse themselves from the room while Julia stays in the middle unmoving and eyes downcast, leaving only Kai, Miguel and Spencer in the room with her. The others linger outside, wanting to hear what the phone call is about, but not wanting to be blatantly obvious about it.

Hey, they do have some respect in this matter.

Taking a step back from Miguel, Kai plunges his hand into his pocket and pulls out his phone and flips it open. "Hello?" he asks with a sense of concern when he recognizes the number to be that of his apartment.

"Kai?" comes Bryan's voice through the phone, trying to smother his panic and concern with a monotone voice, but Kai can sense his unease immediately.

"Did you find Raul?" Kai asks as he moves back towards Miguel, positioning the phone so that the blonde can hear as well. The sound of the missing teen's name causes Spencer and Julia to snap their attention towards the pair.

"You better get your ass over here," Bryan tells him and Kai has the image of the silver haired teen pacing circles in his apartment while he holds the cordless phone in one as the other rakes through his hair while trying not to panic. "He's sick."

"What?" Kai says in surprise as he shares a look with Miguel before turning back to the phone, both of them feeling extreme concern now. "What's wrong?"

"He has a fever and won't stop shivering," Bryan explains.

Kai immediately pulls away from Miguel and presses the phone tightly to his ear as he leaves the room, looking for his jacket and car keys. He pushes pass the large group of teens lingering just outside the room, ignoring them completely. "Is he out of his wet clothes and in bed?" he asks.

"Yes, we've got him somewhere warm," Bryan says, sounding exasperated.

"How's his breathing?" Kai keeps firing off questions, wanting to know the exact condition of his soon-to-be patient. "Is he breathing ok?"

"Ah…" Bryan trails off and Kai can hear him call out to Tala how Raul is doing. "Labored," he tells him after a moment.

Kai mutters under his breath for a moment. He is about to ask yet another question when he hears Bryan draw in a sharp breath. "We don't know what to do when someone's sick, ok?! Just get your ass over here!" he then hangs up on him.

Kai pulls the phone from his ear to stare at it for a moment, blinking slowly, not sure whether he should be annoyed that Bryan hung up on him, or concerned that he did.

"Kai?" Miguel's voice pulls Kai from his thoughts and back to the task at hand. Miguel places his hands on Kai's shoulders and forces him to turn around and face him. He stares into Kai's eyes, noticing concern in those ruby depths, concern that is shimmering in his eyes as well.

"They found Raul," Kai tells him, his tone quite loud as he knows bladers from all over the globe are trying to listen in. "He's at my place and he has a fever. Tala and Bryan are hopeless when it comes to looking after someone when they're sick, so I'm heading over."

"I'll come too," Miguel says as he grabs his jacket as well and slips it on. "You take care of Raul. I'll make sure that Tala and Bryan don't do anything stupid."

The corner of Kai's lips twitches into a smile and he nods. He turns to leave but he hears the sound of an unusually timid female voice stop him in his tracks. He turns around to find Julia, looking sad and sorry for herself, a few feet away.

"I…" she murmurs, sounding like she wants to come along as well but loses her nerve.

Kai simply points at Julia, giving her a no-nonsense look. "You, stay here. Raul's in no condition to speak with you right now. And I doubt Tala will be in the mood either."

Julia nods numbly and submissively takes a step back, her hands moving in front of her as she nervously wrings at her fingers. She chews on her bottom lip for a moment before swallowing thickly. "Is he ok?"

"He would have been great if he didn't run out into the rain," Kai mutters as he puts on his jacket. He suddenly gets a nudge from Miguel and he turns around to give his boyfriend a look of confusion. "What?"

"Maybe you should ease up a little," Miguel suggests softly as he motions his head towards the dual haired woman. "I think she's had enough guilt for now."

Kai glances over Miguel's shoulder and sighs to himself when he notices that Julia is on the verge of crying. He sighs again and runs a hand through his hair. "Look," he says to her. "Raul just fainted from emotional stress, ok? Once he gets some rest, I'm sure he'll be fine. You…you can talk to him then."

Julia slowly lifts her head up to stare at Kai for a moment, tears pooling at the corners of her eyes as she nods her head slowly. "Ok," she whispers before turning around and walking away.

Kai watches her leave and sighs again, mildly wondering to himself whether he was too harsh on the girl, but thinking back with what has happened and the pain Raul has been through, he can happily justify his annoyance towards her.

Miguel suddenly wraps an arm around Kai's shoulder and pulls him to his side. "I think you got through to her," he says as he kisses his temple.

"Good," Kai replies as he leans against Miguel before pulling away. He looks into Miguel face, seriousness in his own. "Let's go. We shouldn't leave Raul with a panicking Tala and Bryan a moment longer."

Miguel nods as he takes a step back. "Right."

"Are you coming, Spencer?" Kai asks just before he and Miguel dashes through the door.

The bulky blonde thinks for a moment before shaking his head, knowing that with a concerned Tala and a mothering Kai staying in one apartment, he'll just get in the way. "I'll stay here and make sure this lot doesn't get into any more trouble," he says.

Kai nods, finding that answer satisfying, as he now doesn't have to worry about what this lot will get up to while he's away. "Call me if they get out of hand," he orders before disappearing out the door, Miguel immediately by his side.

Spencer watches them leave and turns his attention to the group of bladers that are trying to listen in on the unfolding drama. He rolls his eyes as some of them turn away, whistling innocently.

"I suggest we scrape the game Truth or Dare and try something else, hm?" he tells the group, smirking slightly when they all nod their heads vigorously.

"I suppose we could do without revealing more secret relationships," Rick says as he leans up against a wall, his arms over his chest and a smirk on his lips when he stares at a certain pair of blondes.

Enrique blushes softly while Max simply smiles at the taller American. "Technically, Enrique and I wasn't oust during the game," he points out as he wraps his arms around Enrique's waist and rests his chin on his shoulder. "Kai did, so we shouldn't be included in that sentence."

"Whatever," Rick says as others around him sniggers and he rolls his eyes. "I just think we don't have to witness yet another secret and taboo relationship being revealed in an awkward manner, ok?" he mutters and turns to his teammate, the tall and docile basketball player. "Right?"

But Eddy reminds silent, his profile tense and his eyes staring a hole in the floor. He suddenly bristles and snaps his head up to glare at Rick. "Bite me, Rick," he hisses at him before turning on his heel and stalking away.

Everyone watches him leave, expressions of blatant shock on their faces, Rick's being the most prominent.

"Eddy?" Michael whispers, concern in his voice but his eyes narrow in thought. He stays silent for a moment before he too bristles and turns to poke Rick in the chest, sending him an accusing look. "You're such a jackass!"

Rick reels back in surprise, his silver eyes blinking rapidly in confusion. "What did I do?" he asks as he rubs his chest.

Michael simply huffs and folds his arms over his chest, continuing to give Rick a very sour look. "I want you to apologize to him."

"Not until I find out what I did wrong," Rick retorts, his brow knotting in annoyance.

"You'll find out when you apologize," Michael tells him sharply. He turn moves forward and grabs Rick by the ear, twisting it a little and proceeds to drag Rick away while muttering under his breath.

"Ow!" Rick practically bellows as Michael drags him out of sight. "Let go of me you nutcase!"

Max blinks at the slight, confusing shimmering in his eyes as he continues to hold Enrique against him. "What was that about?" he whispers.

As Spencer watches the group in front of him, his eyebrow arches towards his hairline. This mob certainly has its shares of drama and chaos. No wonder Kai hates to leave them alone like this when they're all together in one place.

"Spencer?"

Spencer's smirk turns into a warm smile when he recognizes the accented and precise voice of certain special someone. He turns around to find Robert lingering in the doorway of one of the spare bedrooms, waiting patiently and politely so he doesn't interrupt the blonde.

"Are you busy?" he asks, smiling softly when Spencer shakes his head and walks over to him.

When Spencer reaches him, he places his hand on the small of his back and guides him to move inside the room where he shuts the door behind him. He then turns around and grabs Robert by the upper arms, startling the nobleman by pulling him into his chest and crushing their lips together in a passionate kiss. However, surprise soon gives way to pleasure as he sinks into Spencer's arms as they wrap around his body and participates in the kiss as much as he is able.

"I've missed you," Robert whispers, panting softly from the kiss. He and Spencer have been seperated for over a month now, and while Robert has tried to keep himself busy with work, it's not easy. He's been looking forward to this bladers reunion for a long time now. And by the force of Spencer's kiss, he's been longing for him just as long.

Spencer smiles and rests his cheek on top of the royal purple hair. "Me too," he replies as he continues to hold Robert close.

"I hear that Raul isn't fairing so well," Robert says as he pulls back a little to look into Spencer's eyes. "Do you know what's ailing him?"

"Emotional stress, apparently," Spencer replies with a sigh as he presses his forehead against Robert's. "When Kai get there, he'll be in good hands. It's Tala I'm worried about. I wonder how he's coping with all of this."

--

Tala kneels on the floor by the side of the bed, his hands tugging up a thick blanket to place over the shivering form on the large double bed. As soon as Tala got Raul into Kai's apartment, he immediately peeled off his wet clothes and placed him into a spare pair of Kai's pajamas before placing him in bed.

And not once did Raul stir; the only source of life are his constant shivers and whimpers of pain and discomfort. It's heartbreaking to see him like this and Tala is on the verge of tearing his hair out.

He doesn't know what to do. He's afraid that he might do something to cause his gentle lover further pain. But he can't just sit here and watch him suffer.

Dammit, where the hell is Kai? What's taking him so long?

"Tala…?"

Tala immediately snaps out of his thoughts and turns his attention back to the bed. His breath hitches in his throat when he spies a pair of forest green eyes peering up at him though heavy lashes. "I'm here," he whispers as he leans over the bed and kisses his forehead gently, feeling intense relief at seeing him awake.

Raul sends Tala a sleepy smile and moves to take one of his hands in his. "I'm glad," he whispers before breaking out into a coughing fit. The fit lasts for a few seconds before they die down and Raul lies on the bed, breathing heavily.

"My chest hurts," he whimpers before his head rolls to the side and seems to fall asleep again.

"Raul?"

* * *

X3 Relationships coming out everywhere! What's wrong with Eddy? Will Raul be ok? Has Julia actually seen the light? Are there any more relationship hidden away? All those questions and more will be revealed…sometime soon, I hope.

Please review.


	7. Chapter 7

Reviews: Oh my goodness, 105 reviews in only 6 chapters! You have no idea how happy I am about that! X3 Big thanks to; Kizzy Bloom, pinball62, dragonfire7654321, Shyki, Tenshi of Freedom, Thegoldenlock, kit572, Kayland Elric, CrimsonShadowOfRegret, russian and cute blader lover, sasukoi, Destiny Kitty, chrono-contract, grimnessreaper, kaitouahiru, Blaze Queenie and animepie!

Chapter 7! I hope you enjoy reading it!

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Hmm, a fever. A stubborn one at that.

Raking his fingers through two different colored hair, Kai gently coaxes the young circus star into a more peaceful state of slumber. Soft words of comfort fall from his lips in gentle whispers, penetrating his dreams and soothing his tormented soul. A wet clothes lies over Raul's forehead and a bowl of cool water sits in the bedside table, awaiting further use. The fever that is currently ravishing Raul's disturbingly thin body is uncomfortable for the young male, and he is whimpering in his sleep, curled up on his side as if he's trying to make himself as small as possible.

Kai cannot examine the blader thoroughly until he relaxes, so currently he is sitting on the edge of the bed in the spare room of his apartment, running his fingers through his hair to sooth him. This isn't the first time Kai had to nurse a fevered Raul.

Raul cares about what others think of him, maybe a little too much. Kai can't even begin to count the all the times where Tala came to him in the middle of the night with a sleeping Raul in his arms, telling him that he trained himself to the point of exhaustion.

Raul doesn't think he's strong enough. He doesn't think he's good enough. He doesn't stand up for himself whenever someone criticizes him, taking their harsh words as fact.

There are a few things that Kai hates in this world and critics are one of them.

Fortunately, Raul is getting a little bit better at taking critics on the chin. Tala has taught him not to take every comment thrown his way to heart. Tala, himself, couldn't give a rat's ass what anyone says about him. He knows that there are people out there who simply will not like you and won't change their opinions, even if you belt them with a plank of wood.

Tala worries about Raul, a lot actually. He's as emotionally fragile as he looks and all Tala wants to do is to hold him in his arms and keep him safe.

Tala isn't the only one who worries about Raul. Raul has quite a following of 'Big Brothers', including all the blitz boys and their lovers. Thankfully, not all the brothers are here at the moment. Spencer is still at the dojo, keeping an eye out on the little ferals while Garland is keeping Bryan busy and away from him.

Kai emits a soft sigh when he notices that Raul is no longer shaking in his sleep and his eyebrow gives a sudden twitch. "You know," he says quietly as not to disturb the teen before him. "It is really hard to concentrate when you're breathing down my neck!"

Tala physically reels back at the whispered hiss in his direction and takes a step back, almost appearing bashful before he walks around to the opposite side of the bed and kneels on the floor, peering down at his young boyfriend. "Can't you hurry up and help him?"

"What do you think I'm doing?" Kai asks as his eyebrow twitches again. He has only been at his apartment for less than ten minutes and Tala is expecting him to work miracles. He does not yet know all of Raul's ailments as he's been too busy trying to make him comfortable enough so he can examine him.

All Kai knows at the moment is that Raul has a fever and seems to be breathing, better now than before. When Kai first arrived, Raul's breathing was labored and uneven, coming out in short, harsh breathes. But now, after soothing him for a few minutes, softly whispering words of comfort to him, his breathing is now back to a steady rate, much to Kai's relief.

He doesn't even want to imagine what Tala would do if Raul stopped breathing…

"I can't help him if I'm busy arguing with you," Kai goes on to say before he takes a deep breathes and glances over his shoulder. "Miguel, can you get him out of here?"

A moment later, a handsome blonde appears in the doorway and he sends Tala a sympathetic, yet stern look. "Let's go, Tala," he says as he walks over to him and grabs him by the arm.

"But-!" Tala begins the protest, reluctant to leave his boyfriend's side again. After what happened today, he doesn't want to be apart from him again.

Of course, unless it's to confront his sister when no one else is around…

"He'll be fine," Miguel says as he pulls the surprisingly non-resisting redhead towards the door. "He's in good hands, you know he is. Just let Kai deal with him for the moment. You can come back in when he's finished assessing him, ok?"

Tala looks ready to dig his heels in and give him a defiant no, but then he relents and his body slumps forward in defeat. "…Fine," he mutters and leaves the room on his own accord.

Kai watches him leave, knowing that this is pure torture for his childhood friends and he releases another weary sigh. "Thanks, Miguel," he whispers to his lover as he turns to leave as well. Miguel gives him a small smile as he closes the door behind him.

Drawing in a deep breath, Kai turns his attention back to his patient, a sense of relief appearing in his chest when he notes that Raul's breathing is still even and becoming less labored. He can get his fever down in an hour or two, simply by keeping the wet cloth on his forehead.

Good.

Removing his gloves from his hands, Kai sets out to test how high Raul's temperature really is and if he has any swollen throat glands. Raul suddenly gives a small whimper and rolls over onto his side.

"Please don't hate me," he whispers in his sleep.

Kai's eyes soften at those words and he begins to run his fingers through his hair again. Although Raul is suffering physical ailments from his run in the freezing rain, it is his emotional pain that's really affecting him. That explains his complaints of chest pains Tala told him about the moment he stepped inside his apartment.

There is very little Kai can do for Raul at this point in time, other than to make him comfortable by reducing his fever and trying to help him sleep peacefully. Tala is the only one who can help him emotionally. As a big brother figure to the young circus star, there is only so much he can do. It's going to take Tala's unconditional love to help him through the pain his sibling has cast upon him.

He has already done all that he can. The rest is up to Tala and eventually, Raul himself.

"You have to learn to take better care of yourself, Raul," Kai whispers to teen he sees as a brother as he pulls the blankets over his tiny frame. "If you get any thinner, you'll have to run around in the shower to get wet."

"That's the pot calling the kettle black."

Although hating people commenting on his own weight, Kai cannot stop a smile from appearing on his lips when he recognizes the teasing tone in a voice he has come to love. "Shush, you," he says as he climbs to his feet and over to the blonde standing in the door's threshold. "How's Tala?"

"Waiting impatiently," Miguel says as he moves forward and wraps his arms around Kai's body, pulling him into his chest as he rests his cheek on the top of his head. "Can he come in now?"

"Yeah," Kai whispers as he sinks into his arms.

Miguel nods and pulls back slightly, but only enough to turn his attention to the door. "You can come in now," he says and not a second later, a certain redhead appears.

"How is he?" Tala asks, immediately making his way over to the double bed and sits down.

Kai turns around in Miguel's arms so he is now facing Tala and leaning his back against Miguel's chest. "He has a fever and some swollen glands in his throat, but that's from the head and chest cold he got while being out in the rain," Kai explains. "Those symptoms will fade in a day or two, depending on how you can help with his emotional symptoms."

Tala gives Kai a look of confusion as he tilts his head to the side. "Emotional?"

"He's emotional exhausted," Kai says, nodding his head softly in understanding. "After what happened today, I'm not surprised. You just need to reassure him that the two of you will be fine, and that everything will be fine."

Tala, too, nods his head in understanding as he turns his attention back to little Raul. He gazes at him tenderly for a moment or two before turning back to Kai, a look of annoyance on his face. "What about Julia?" he asks, almost spitting the female's name.

The corners for Kai's lips twitch into a small smile. "She's starting to see the light." His smile threatens to grow bigger when he feels Miguel's body tremble around him and he knows that he is trying to suppress his chuckles.

"She wants to speak with him later," Miguel informs the redhead.

"Much later…" Tala murmurs.

"Tomorrow," Kai says as he steps out of his arms and over to Tala to place a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I know you're not going to let him out of your sight tonight. So, stay here and watch over him. There's enough room in bed for the both of you."

"Thanks, Kai."

--

"Ow, ow, ow, ow! Would you stop twisting my ear, already?!"

Michael huffs, but let's go of the abused ear and folds his arms over his chest as he looks around. "Where's Eddy?"

Rick mutters something under his breathe as he rubs his ear with the palm of his hand. He appears disgruntle and irritable, but he too is looking around, a small shimmer of concern in his silver eyes. "I don't know."

"There he is!" Michael says suddenly, pointing to the far corner of the dojo grounds where a certain tall African-American is leaning against a wall, his arms folded tightly over his chest. Michael turns back to Rick, ready to order him to speak with their teammate, but finds him gone. When he turns to look at Eddy again, he realizes that Rick is already making his way over to him.

"Good," Michael murmurs to himself before turning on his heel and heading back inside the dojo. Now, all he can do is hope that Rick doesn't screw this up. Eddy deserves better…

Stopping just short of his teammate, Rick raises an eyebrow in question. "What's wrong with you?" he asks.

However, Eddy simply pushes away from the wall and gives Rick a stern glare, a flicker of annoyance with a sense of self-pity in his eyes. "How about we play our own game of truth or dare?" he asks, suddenly.

Rick blinks at the question with a mild sense of perplexity. "What?"

Eddy ignores his confusion and continues to look at him through narrow eyes. "Truth. Are you homophobic?"

"What?" Rick physically reels back in surprise as he blinks quite a few times, trying to get his head around the sudden question. It dawns on him, his recent behavior towards both Miguel and Kai's relationship and Max and Enrique's. "No, I-"

Rick wants to explain himself, but doesn't exactly know how. He's not very good with words, expressing himself through action is more his thing. His reaction to the oust relationships was not exactly a reaction of disgust, but more of annoyance. He didn't particular want to see them acting all cute and mushy together.

Eddy continues to glare hard at him, a glare that has no place on his usual friendly and docile expression. Suddenly, his face falls and he gives Rick a heartbreaking look. "Are you ashamed of me?" he asks softly, his body slumping forward in defeat. "Is that why your want to keep us a secret?"

With a blank look on his face, Rick takes a moment to regard the teen in front of him…his secret boyfriend. They have been together for three months now, the two of them getting together under innocent circumstances, Eddy teaching Rick how to play basketball. They started to hang out more and eventually they grew close. Eddy seemed to be the only person to understand Rick as a person and where he was coming from. The only other person who knows about their relationship is Michael, who is Eddy's best friend. Which explains why Michael is so ticked off with Rick at the moment...

"Where is this coming from?" Rick asks softly, not entirely sure how his feelings towards Eddy has anything to do with being homophobic.

"Just answer me I need to know," Eddy orders quietly, a look of pure abandonment on his face. "Am I an embarrassment to you?"

Suddenly, it dawns on him. Eddy thinks that the only reason Rick wants to keep their relationship on the quiet is because he doesn't want others to know he's gay. "No, never," Rick says, shaking his head. That isn't the reason at all!

Eddy gives him a pleading look. "Then why?"

Not able to withstand at look of devastation on his lover's face a moment longer, Rick suddenly grabs Eddy by his upper arms, pulls him abruptly against his chest and kisses him soundly on the lips. It's a forceful kiss, so sudden that Eddy has to grasp onto Rick's shirt to keep himself from falling backwards, even though Rick's arms around him holds him securely in place. As suddenly as the kiss started, Rick breaks it, continuing to hold Eddy in his arms.

"I'm worried about your safety!" he tells him, giving him a gentle shake to prove his sincerity.

With wide eyes, Eddy shakes his head to rid himself from the haze the sudden kiss left behind and gazes at Rick with a look of concern. "My safety?"

"Look, I come from a bad neighborhood," Rick says as he pulls away, turning his back on the shorter youth to run a weary hand through his hair, appearing to struggle with the words. "I have enemies, street bladers who want a piece of me. I'm afraid they might go through you to get to me…"

"Rick…"

"I'm not good at this kind of thing," Rick continues, bumbling his way through his speech. "It's just…you're important to me. That's why I act the way I do. If no one knows, then no one can hurt you."

Eddy stares at Rick's back for a moment, a look of surprise on his face. However, that surprise soon gives way to guilt and Eddy moves forward to press himself timidly against Rick's back, his cheek resting between his shoulder blades. "Rick, I'm sorry," he whispers when he feels Rick stiffen at the contact. "I didn't mean to lose my temper like that. It's just, seeing all these couples happy together and…I just thought…no, I wasn't thinking. I was just being a jerk, that's all."

Rick suddenly sighs and takes a step forward, moving out of Eddy's grip, but before Eddy has a chance to feel disappointment at the loss, and Rick draws him into his arms and holds him against his chest. "No, I was the jerk here. I made people think I was homophobic and hurt you."

"We don't have to come out to the world, just to the others," Eddy says as he nuzzles his head under Rick's chin. "I'm sure after what happened here today they'll be fine with it. If they're not, we'll just get Kai onto them."

Rick winces at the thought, his hand gingerly touching his nose. "Don't remind me."

Eddy laughs softly and places a soft kiss to his cheek.

* * *

X3 Claim first Rick/Eddy! (Can I?) I bet you didn't see that pair coming, did ya? Poor Eddy, he is always pushed aside and forgotten. Anyway, Tala/Raul fluff in the next chapter, promise!

Please review.


	8. Chapter 8

Reviews: The biggest hugs I can muster go to; Kizzy Bloom, dragonfire7654321, Rapunzelle, Thegoldenlock, Tenshi of Freedom, sasukoi, CrimsonShadowOfRegret, kaitouahiru, pinball62, grimnessreaper, Blaze Queenie, kit572 and animepie for reviewing!

**Attention all Tala/Raul fans!** You must check out the beautiful piece of artwork by Destiny Kitty, which was inspired by this story, chapter three, actually. The link is on my profile. Click on it and prepare to coo at the cuteness of it all! X3

* * *

Chapter 8:

Raul awakes to the sound of rain pitter-pattering at a large glass window that over looks the bay area. A sense of confusion fills his being as he wearily lifts his head off the pillow and glances around the room he is currently occupying. Through the heavy haze of his fevered state, the confusion slowly dissipates and realization fills him. He's in the spare room in Kai's personal apartment. He recognizes it as he has awoken in this room several times before.

That means, if he's here, then…

Quickly glancing off to the side, Raul feels his heart leap into his throat when he spies the familiar and comforting figure of a certain bright redheaded Russian, who is sleeping peacefully next to him on the bed. Raul then realizes that Tala has his arm casually slung around his waist, holding him close and protecting from any harm.

The sight of his tough and powerful boyfriend sleeping quietly brings a smile to Raul's face. A smile that holds an edge of guilt to it.

Despite coming from a less than ideal past, with some social flaws, Tala is patient and loving, someone who isn't afraid to show his affection towards him. Tala has plenty of reasons not wanting their relationship to become common news, but not once has he ever made an excuse not to touch him.

Raul, himself, on the other hand has no excuse other than he's afraid what his sister might think.

A wince appears on Raul's face as he thinks about his sister. Well, at least he knows how Julia feels about his relationship with Tala. She hates it…and Tala as well.

He never, ever thought that Julia could be so shallow. Did she really think that Tala was this manipulation and abusive bastard who forced him into a relationship? Did she really think that he has no emotions other than sadism and pure hatred for anyone considered weaker than he is?

She couldn't be more wrong!

Tala has a short temper, yes that is true, but most people he knows does. Tala is patient, understanding, protective and strong. He might be a bit of a smartass at times, but he doesn't mean anything by it. He's funny when he's being sarcastic.

Not many people would believe this, but in truth when Tala and Bryan get together, they really make him laugh. They are probably two of the funniest people he knows. Not funny like stand up comedian belting out jokes funny or centre of attention funny, but everyday funny. He adores those two when they tell him stories about misadventures they've experienced in the past. Bryan is a great storyteller. Even better when he's drunk, but then most of his stories are rude and results in Kai belting him over the head.

In fact, he could say he adores the entire team! Kai is like a brother to him, a mother even, one who would stand up for him without a second thought and reduce the one tormenting him in anyway to a blubbering mess of tears and pleads of forgiveness.

And Spencer's tongue is just as sharp. If Kai's the mother of the group, then Spencer is most definitely the father figure. Strong and silent, but with a deadly backhand. All he has to do is raise it and people cower in fear! But Raul has never seen him raise it to anyone he knows, despite encountering countless opportunities to slap some sense into someone, ie, Steve from the All Stars who tends to call him a brainless buffoon, he has never even looked like he wanted to strike the other teen. He has a lot of patience, even more than the others combined!

The more he thinks about it, the more Raul realizes that even though this team seems unconventional to the outside world, they are perfect in Raul's eyes. They seem real. They have talents, they have faults, they have personality strengths and attitude flaws. But that's what he loves about them, about them all.

A small smile flitters across Raul's lips as he gazes down at his sleeping boyfriend's face. Carefully, he lifts his hand and trails a finger down the bridge of his nose, stopping at the point. He bites his bottom lip to stop a chuckle from escaping when Tala cutely screws up his nose.

"I love you," he whispers as he leans forward and kisses Tala's cheek tenderly. "I'm sorry for hiding."

Sitting up slowly and carefully so not to awaken his sleeping lover, Raul glances around the room and his eyes immediately falls on the door. A small silver of light seeps in through the open crack of the door and a sense of mild curiosity fills him, wondering if anyone else is here.

Slipping his legs out of bed, Raul pauses to look at Tala with a loving gaze before he paddles over to the door and slowly pushes it open. The lighting isn't as blinding as he first thought so he ventures further, trying to be as quiet as possible.

The only source of light is coming from Kai's bedroom and he can hear the faint murmuring of voices. The voices are soft and considerate, telling Raul that the voices belong to none other than Kai and Miguel.

Peeking inside the room, Raul immediately sees that he is right. He blushes lightly when he sees that Kai and Miguel aren't talking at the moment, instead participating in a very passionate kiss. In a spare set of pajamas he always leaves at Kai's place, Miguel is sitting up against the headboard of the bed, one leg on the bed bent at the knee, and the other dangles off the side. Kai is laying in-between his legs on his side as he leans against Miguel's chest. Miguel has his fingers in Kai's hair, tilting his head back enough so they can share kisses whenever they please.

With one last drawn out caress, Miguel pulls away from the kiss, just enough to look into Kai's eyes as he gazes up at him, looking a little weary.

Raul feels a prang of guilt hit him. Kai must be tired because of watching over him. Whenever he gets sick, Kai is usually the one who watches over him until he's well enough to recover on his own. Tala, bless him, gets nervous and frantic when he gets sick. He just doesn't know what to do.

"You're tired," Miguel says.

"I'm fine," Kai is quick to reassure him. "I'm just thinking about tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

Raul tilts his head to the side in question; he too wondering what is so special about tomorrow. Does Kai have something planned?

"Yes," Kai sighs as he snuggles further into Miguel's arms. "What are we going to do about Julia?"

_Oh…_

Raul physically winces. That's right. He still has to face his sister yet…

"After the verbal attack you gave her," Miguel says, a teasing smile making its presence known on his lips. "I don't think she has a leg to stand on."

Raul looks on with intrigue as Kai blushes lightly as if from the memory before he gives Miguel a look of defiance. "…She deserved it, though," he says with an adorable pout on his lips.

Miguel chuckles and kisses his forehead softly. "Oh, no doubt," he says. "But I think we should leave the rest to Raul."

"I know," Kai sighs again. "When he's ready, of course."

"Maybe he can find the courage within himself not to hide anymore," Miguel says with a gentle smile as he tightens his arms around Kai's slender frame, holding him close. "Like us."

Kai nuzzles his cheek against Miguel's shoulder as he breathes deeply; exhaling as he completely relaxes against him. "Do you think it was a good idea for me to oust us like that?"

"Are you kidding?" Miguel says with a chuckle, the smile not once wavering on his face. "There couldn't have been a better way. In fact, I think you inspired other couples to do the same. I always said that you were an inspiration."

A light blush immediately dances across Kai's cheeks and Raul has to cover his mouth with his hand to stop himself from releasing a chuckle. Miguel likes to compliment Kai whenever he can, always earning himself the cutest blush. He's right, though, Kai does tend to inspire people around, mostly without meaning to, though.

"Besides," Miguel continues. "I don't think anyone will have the guts to say anything bad about us. Especially not after seeing what you did to Rick."

"I didn't hit him that hard," Kai says, once again a pout adorning his lips as he screws up his nose a little in defiance.

"Hard enough to get your point across," Miguel says before he falls silent and gives Kai a tender and loving smile as he trails a finger over the tattoos on his cheeks.

Kai watches him for a moment before he raises an eyebrow. "What?" he says, the corners of his mouth twitching into a smile.

"I love you," Miguel whispers, bringing their faces closer together.

The smile on Kai's lips grows in tenderness and rubs his nose against Miguel in an Eskimo kiss. "I love you, too," he whispers, tilting his head to the side ever so slightly to let Miguel press their lips together in a very soft kiss.

"It's late," Miguel says as he pulls back slightly. "We should try to get some sleep."

"I know," Kai says as he places his hands on Miguel's chest and pushes himself away, looking ready to get up. "Maybe I should-"

But Miguel cuts him off by grabbing his arms and crushing him against his chest as he nuzzles his cheek in his hair. "Raul will be fine. Tala's with him, remember? He's safe now."

Kai makes no attempt to struggle and simply falls limp in Miguel's embrace. "Ok," he whispers as Miguel lifts an arm to turn off the bedside lamp. "Let's get some sleep. It's been a big day, for the both of us."

As the room falls into darkness, Raul pushes away from the wall he's leaning on and carefully makes his way back to the spare room, back to Tala. They were right. He needs to find the courage within himself to come out about his relationship. Everyone already knows, so what's the point in hiding anymore?

Silently, he slips into bed and presses himself against Tala, who immediately wraps his arms around him tightly. A smile appears on Raul's lips as he prepares himself to settle down for the night, but then Tala releases a soft groan and Raul realizes that Tala is waking up. A few moments later, Tala's eyes flutter open and he peers at him through a sleepy haze.

"Raul?" he murmurs, lifting his head up a little to gaze at him in concern.

"I'm sorry," Raul whispers as he pushes himself into his chest, nuzzling his head under his chin.

Tala places his hands on the small of his back as he brow knots in confusion. "For what?"

"I've been scared of what might happen if Julia ever found out about you," Raul confesses as a small shudder of guilt and regret races through his body. "I had so many possibilities running through my head."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there," Tala whispers, a weary sigh of regret passing his lips.

"No, it's ok," Raul replies with a shake of his head. "I now know what Julia thinks and I…don't want to hide anymore."

Tala's eyes widen slightly in surprise. "Hm?"

Raul snuggles even closer to him, his arms snaking under Tala's to wrap around his body, his hands resting on his shoulder blades. "I love you, I really do."

"I love you, too," Tala whispers as he places a kiss on the top of his head. "We'll be fine, you'll see."

"Yeah," Raul whispers with a genuine smile spreading across his lips. "I know."

--

With her dressing gown drawn tightly around her, Julia steps outside her appointed room and stares up at the sky as dark clouds unleash a torrent of rain to the earth below. The mood is dark, dank and miserable, just how Julia feels inwardly and outwardly.

"I hope Raul is somewhere safe," she whispers as tears of guilt sting in her eyes. She bites on her bottom lip to stop a sob from escaping.

Kai was right, this is her fault. Raul is sick and most likely hurt, and it's all her fault. Why did she react the way she did? Her sweet and innocent little brother dating one of the badasses from Russia? It shocked her, and instead of reacting like any good sister should, she lashed out at him. She hurt him. She…betrayed him.

And she feels like the biggest bitch in the world. How could she turn on her own flesh and blood like that?

"Julia," comes another female's voice. "You should go to bed."

Julia tenses at the tone and a grimace appears on her face when she recognizes the voice. It's Hilary, perhaps the biggest supporter of same-sex couplings, especially of the male variety. "You're annoyed with me, aren't you?"

"I…," Hilary hesitates for a moment, pulling her own nightgown closer around her before she nods her head just so. "Yes, a little."

"I do care for him," Julia whispers softly.

Once again, Hilary hesitates in saying anything, but she feels that she needs to give her two-cents worth. "T-that's hard to tell sometimes."

"I do pick on him a lot, don't I?" Julia says, a wince on her face again.

Hilary chews on her bottom lip. "From what I seen, yeah."

"Do you think that's the reason why he didn't tell me about Tala?" Julia suddenly asks, folding her arms around her body as she shivers from the cold. "He was afraid of what I would say…afraid of me," a tear slips from her eye as she covers her face with her hands. "I'm such a bitch."

"Julia…," Hilary whispers, a sense of sympathy in her voice and eyes. She walks over to the other woman and rests her hand on her shoulder, giving her a hint of comfort that no one else has attempted to give her since this whole ordeal started.

She can tell that Julia really is sorry for her outburst.

"You should go to bed," Hilary suggests, a reassuring smile on her lips when Julia lifts her head to look at her. "It's a new day tomorrow. Maybe you can still make things right between you two."

Julia rubs the tears stains from her cheeks as she nods. "I hope so."

* * *

Ah, another chapter done. Only one or two left to go. One, most likely, but I make no promises. This story was original only supposed to be three or four chapters long. What the hell happened?

Please review.


	9. Chapter 9

Reviews: A wonderful thank you to; Dranza the Phoenix Goddess, chrono-contract, pinball62, Amongst-Azarath, Blaze Queenie, Tenshi of Freedom, kit572, Kizzy Bloom, Destiny Kitty, dark-phoenix-4eva, Nameless Little Girl and grimnessreaper!!

Last chapter! I hope you enjoy reading it.

* * *

Chapter 9:

Grasping the hand of his ever strong and patient lover in his two hands, Raul glances up and down the increasingly busy streets of Beycity, a light blush on his cheeks. This is the first time he's held onto Tala's hand as they walk out in public and he's now beginning to understand how it isn't really a big deal. A couple of people glance at their hands, but most people ignore them, too busy going about their own ways.

He glances to his left and realizes that he's just being silly. Walking next to him are the ever loving couple of Miguel and Kai, Miguel's arm around Kai's waist pulling him against his side while Kai rests his head on his shoulder. Miguel whispers something into Kai's ear which earns him a smile in return and a quick peck on the cheek. They're so sweet together.

A soft smile appears on his lips as he takes a moment longer to look at the two before boldly laying his head on Tala's shoulder as he leads him towards the dojo. The rain has finally stopped falling and the sky above is starting to clear; only scattered clouds fill the blue sky above.

"Are you sure you're ready to face her now?" Tala asks, concern etching its way into his voice as he places a soft kiss to the top of his head.

Raul is silent for a moment, thinking. Is he ready to face his sister? His own flesh and blood who so readily turned on him while insulting his boyfriend? Is he ready?

Not really, but if he doesn't do it now, when will he finally find the courage to do it later?

"Yeah, I am…" Raul replies with a shaky breath before tilting his head back to look up at the taller male with a small sense of fear in his eyes. "If you could come with me."

Tala can't help but smile down at him and he nods. "I'm not going anywhere."

"We're here," Kai says, interrupting the two as they all come to a standstill in front of the dojo, which is surprisingly quiet for once. No doubt everyone inside is still reeling from yesterday events. Raul can't help but wince when he remembers the events as well. That must have been quite a sight, watching siblings scream at each other like that, in front of everyone no less.

"Is there anything you would like us to do?" This time Miguel's is the one who interrupts his thoughts.

Raul swallowed thickly, his nerves showing through as he licks his lips. "I think I need to do this with just Tala and Julia," he says before giving the two slightly older males a grateful smile. "Thanks for everything, though."

Kai simply tilts his head to the side to give him a gentle smile, his eyes softening with understand. "It's alright," he says.

"Don't hesitate in asking for help if anything happens," Miguel adds as he and Kai walk past them and inside, no doubt hoping to deter anyone from getting in their way. Everyone inside probably have questions of their own they want to ask.

"I will," Raul says as he watches the two disappear.

Raul is grateful that Kai and Miguel are going in first. No one in his or her right mind would defy Kai, or Miguel for that matter. After this, they probably won't even have the guts to ask him what happened at all.

Suddenly, he hears Kai's voice yelling at Julia to get into the kitchen while everyone else either wait outside or in the lounge room. Of course, he gives the threat of unbelievable pain if anyone defies him.

He's truly wonderful, isn't he?

But the really funny part is when he hears the sound of thundering feet, all heading in different directions.

"Well, I guess we know where we can find Julia now, don't we?" Tala says as he shakes his head in amusement, a half smile on his lips.

Raul can't help but giggle, some of his nerves disappearing. "You're right," he says as Tala places another kiss to his forehead and they walk inside the eerily silent dojo. Raul has only been here a few times himself, but he has never, ever been here when it's so quiet. It's almost unnerving.

"Raul!"

Raul jumps at the sound of his name and he snaps his attention to the sound of the voice. There, standing in the doorway of the kitchen is his sister. He feels instantly shy and tries to hide behind Tala as he grips his hand in a death like grip. However, when he gets a good look of his sister, his eyes widen in surprise. She looks like a wreck. Her eyes are red and swollen, and looks like she didn't get a wink of sleep last night.

His fear and nerves soon melt away at the sight of Julia and he feels tears begin to sting in his eyes. "Julia…"

Tala, too, sees the state the female Fernandez sibling is in and despite his obvious annoyance at her, his eyes soften as well. He can see that she has very little fight left in her. "I'll just be outside if you need me," he tells Raul, knowing that he needs to speak with his sister first, without him there.

Raul understands what Tala is trying to do and he nods. "Thanks, Tala," he whispers, boldly leaning forward to place a kiss to his cheek before moving into the kitchen. Tala watches him for a moment before he takes a step backwards and out into the hallway, closing the door to give them more privacy, but he lingers just outside, pressing his ear against the door to listen. The first sign of trouble and he's stepping in.

"Julia?" Raul whispers timidly as he approaches his sister.

Suddenly, Julia lunges forward and throws her arms around his neck in a hug, pressing her face into his shoulder as she sheds a few tears. "I am so sorry," she murmurs through the tears. "I didn't…I mean…"

The sudden tears and apologies startle Raul greatly. Julia has never been the type to apologize first, yet alone shed tears so freely. This must have affected her more than he realizes. "Julia," he says as he returns the hug for a moment before pushing her back slightly to look into her eyes. "You have to tell me the truth. What do think of Tala?"

"I…" Julia stutters for a moment before she looks away in shame. "I don't know what to think of him…," she finally confesses.

"Then why did you…?"

Julia removes her arms from around his neck and takes a step back, nervously wringing her fingers in front of her. "I don't know…"

"Julia, listen for a minute, please," Raul says as he takes a deep breath, feeling oddly at ease with himself. "I love you, but I love Tala as well. I want to be with him for the rest of my life, if possible."

He can tell that his confession surprises Julia greatly as she reels her head back physically from the shock. She takes a moment to gap at him, never in her life had she ever witness Raul so firm, so determined about something. "You really love him, don't you?"

"I really do," Raul says as he gives a sharp nod. A small, content smile suddenly appears on his lips as he takes a moment to think about his redheaded boyfriend and a light blush adorns his cheeks. "And he loves me as well."

"I…want to talk to him," Julia says, finally after a moment of uncharacteristic silence from her.

This time Raul reels back in surprise. "What?"

Julia gives him a stern look as she folds her arms over her chest. "Look, if he's going to be my future brother-in-law, I think I should spend a bit of time with him, don't you agree?"

Raul immediately blushes darkly at her choice of words and he flails for a moment. He, however, calms down when he sees that though his sister is serious, there's a promise in her eyes that she will at least try to be civil to the redhead. "…Okay," he says as he turns to the door and calls out, "Tala?"

A split second later, the door opens and his lover walks in, appearing like he wants to speak with Julia as well. "I'm right here," he says as he walks over to him.

Raul smiles at him, a sense of genuine happiness in his expression as he leans forward and gives him a gentle kiss to his cheek. "You two please be nice to each other," he asks as he pulls back, a grin on his lips. "I'll go get Kai if you don't."

The two immediately wince at the thought and Raul can't stop a laugh from escaping his lips as he leaves the room. He feels so much better now, like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders. He can't wait to tell the others that he and his sister have made up!

Tala watches his young lover leave before he turns to the only female in the room with him and he meanders over to the kitchen table, lazily taking a seat as he gazes at her with a look of mild interest in his icy eyes. "So?"

"So…" Julia says as she moves to stand on the other side of the table, her arms still over her chest. She gives the redhead a firm look that has a hint of sisterly protection to it. "I have a few questions I want to ask you."

Tala inclines his head towards her and waves his hand for her to proceed. "Very well then."

Julia's eyes twitches at Tala's antics, the male looking too smug for her liken. "How did you and Raul 'meet' as it were?" she asks.

"Raul had an encounter with a street blader and was hurt," Tala tells her quickly and to the point, seeing that she probably doesn't want a longwinded reply with unnecessary details. "I took him home and took care of his injuries as he slept in my bed-," he smirks when he sees her twitch before adding for good measure, "-while I slept in the spare room."

That response satisfies Julia for the moment but then she presses her lips into a thin line, looking reluctant to question him further, but his sisterly instincts ordering her to, but this is going to be embarrassing, especially if he tells the truth. "Have you, you know, gone further than kissing?"

Tala just sits there in a long and drawn out silence, his expression or body not moving an inch. He's just sitting there, looking at her with an oddly blank look on his face.

Julia physically twitches, a light blush spreading across her cheeks. "Well?" she says, her voice sounding stressed.

Finally, after what feels like an hour of uncomfortable and awkward silence, Tala shifts to lean back casually in his seat and sends her a grin. "…No, we haven't."

Julia feels like screaming at him for causing her unnecessary stress, but she restrains herself. "Ok."

"Not yet," Tala adds with a smirk.

Once again, Julia bristles as her blush darkens. "Don't you dare!"

Tala chuckles as he waves his hand at her, finding amusement in her reaction. "Relax, when we 'do the deed' as it were, it will be on Raul's terms," he reassures. "I would never force him into anything he's uncomfortable with."

Julia seems to relax a little, but then stiffens again when Tala's look of amusement suddenly hardens. "Unlike someone people, I don't demand things from him," he adds.

"That was a shot at me, wasn't it?" she says as she visibly winces, feeling ashame of her outburst yesterday.

"Believe or not, I'm pretty pissed off with you, regardless that you're his sister," Tala says as leans his elbow on the table and casually rests his chin in his hand. Even though his posture and appearance looks like he's relaxed, the hard and stern look in his eyes tells otherwise. "What would you have done if I did the same thing to him? You'd be pretty ticked off as well, wouldn't you? It's just the shoe is on the other foot here."

Julia nervously plays with her hair, her face downcast with shame as tears once again threaten her eyes. She knows her behavior yesterday was unacceptable, but hearing it come from the mouth of someone she right out insulted with a vicious tongue only brings that fact home. Every little argument she might have with Tala in the future, this event will no doubt arise again at some point.

"And if you hurt him like that ever again, I swear to God, you will live to regret it," Tala mutters lowly under his breath, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Is that a threat?" Julia asks, just as softly, knowing that Raul could be listening just outside the door.

"It's a warning," Tala points out quickly. "Whether you choose to believe this or not, it's entirely up to you, but Raul means the world to me. If he didn't, would we be here having this conversation?"

Julia pauses and presses her lips into a thin line. "…I guess not…"

"Face it," Tala says suddenly, leaning back in his seat to send Julia a teasing smile, amusement in his eyes again. "You're happy that he's gay, aren't you? That way, you don't have to worry about those deranged fangirls getting a piece of him."

Julia's eyes widen and she blushes immediately as her arms flail about her sides. "Shut up!" she orders, which only makes Tala laugh aloud. She glares at him for a moment before turning her head away and pouts. "But you're right," she says after a moment. "I rather have him dating a guy that I know than a girl that I don't. Little tarts aren't good enough for him, anyway…"

Tala throws his head back as laughs, a part of him beginning to like the female in front of him already. "True, true. I literally had to poison one of them with castor oil to get rid of her."

Julia blinks her eyes slowly, before a grin spreads across her face and she takes a seat in front of him, her hands curling under her chin. "Do tell," she says with a hint of sadistic pleasure.

--

A content smile appears on Raul's lips as he presses his ear against the door. Inside, he can hear both his sister and his boyfriend laughing. He never expected that. He has no idea what the two are talking about, but he doesn't care. They're getting along, that's all that matters.

And he couldn't be happier!

"Kai!" Raul says happily as he bounces over to Kai and gives him a big hug. None of this would be possible if it wasn't for him. "They're getting along."

"That's good to hear," Miguel says as he pats his head, a bright smile on his lips.

Raul smiles at him and turns to Kai, and a look of confusion appears on his face. Kai hasn't said a word and looks like he's in a state of bewilderment. "What's wrong?"

Miguel chuckles as he wraps an arm around Kai's shoulder and pulls him close, seemingly snapping him out of his thoughts. "We just found out how inspirational Kai really is."

"What do you mean?" Raul asks as he tilts his head to the side in question.

"Apparently there were a lot more secret relationships going around then we originally thought," Miguel says as he continues to smile, amusement shimmering in his eyes. "For starts there is Bryan and Garland, Max and Enrique, Spencer and Robert, and surprisingly most of all, Rick and Eddy!"

"What?" Raul asks, his eyes widening considerably and he covers his mouth with his hand in shock.

Finally, Kai pulls himself out of Miguel's arms to throw his own arms into the air in disbelief. "It's insane!" he yells.

Miguel laughs at Kai's reaction, his face brightening in amusement. "Some of them are quite surprising, huh?" he says as he walks over to Kai, wraps his arms around his waist from behind and nuzzles his nose into the back of his neck. "And to think, its all because of you."

"What an achievement," Kai snorts as he folds his arms over his chest. But he then lifts one of his hand to press his index finger and middle finger against his forehead as he shakes his head. "I mean Rick. I punched him on the nose because I thought he was homophobic!"

Raul chuckles into his hand as Miguel continues to laugh at Kai's reaction. "Just the push he needed!"

Still chuckling quietly to himself, Raul realizes that though he doesn't really like truth or dare, it does have it's uses. True, the truth can be unexpected, and the consequences of them can sometimes hurt, but in the end, it's worth it. He found the courage to be with his boyfriend out in public, he has a better relationship with his sister, and two of the most important people in his life are starting to get along because of him.

Playing Truth or Dare isn't so bad after all.

"We should play truth or dare again," Raul says happily, ignoring Kai's bristle at the statement.

"Oh, like hell!"

* * *

There, another fic finished and done with! A few chapters more than expected, but I'm still happy with it none-the-less. I hoped you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Please review.


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